House prices in the UK have risen 0.9% year-on-year

Average house prices in the UK were 0.9% higher in October 2019 than a year earlier, according to the latest House Price Index from Halifax.

The average price of UK house currently stands at £232,249. There was a slight dip of 0.1% in prices between September and October, but prices rose 0.2% quarter-on-quarter.

Seasonally adjusted residential transactions in September 2019 stood at 101,740 – up by 5% from August and the highest level since August 2017.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said:

“Average house prices continued to slow in October, with a modest rise of 0.9% over the past year.

“A number of underlying factors such as mortgage affordability and wage growth continue to support prices; however, there is evidence of consumers erring on the side of caution. We remain unchanged from our view that activity levels and price growth will remain subdued while the UK navigates political and economic uncertainty.”

Jerald Solis, business development and acquisitions director at Experience Invest added:

“The annual rate of house price growth is marginal, though given the current political context, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. October has been full of political twists and turns, and with Brexit uncertainty ongoing, many buyers and sellers have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach.

“The fact house prices still rose in the 12 months to October 2019, nevertheless, demonstrates that buyer demand for real estate has not waned. As such, I expect that once the general election has passed and there is greater clarity around Brexit, we will see more transactions taking place.”

“Given we’ve had a rather tumultuous 12 months, the slowdown in annual house price growth does not come as a surprise. The main concern now, however, is whether this trend will continue as we face further political and economic uncertainty.

“Since the EU referendum, the property market has faced numerous challenges. Yet prices have remained remarkably resilient throughout. This gives us reason to be quietly confident that the slowdown in house price growth will not be a permanent feature.”